Post Doctoral Fellowship for Microbiology Professional at CSIRO Australia

Position: Post Doctoral Fellowship
Organization: CSIRO
Location: Kensington (Perth) Western Australia
Salary: AU $78K to AU $88K plus up to 15.4% superannuation (pension fund)
Tenure: 3 year term
Ref No.: WA15/01342
Application Deadline: Applications close Thursday 11 June, 2015 (11:30pm Perth time)

About CSIRO:

Australia is founding its future on science and innovation. Its national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), is a powerhouse of ideas, technologies and skills for building prosperity, growth, health and sustainability. It serves governments, industries, business and communities.

CSIRO prefers all applications to be lodged via our online careers portal. Pls Click Here to apply online.  Choose “Positions Vacant” and search for Reference Number WA15/01342

•Excellent career development opportunity
•Structured postdoctoral training program
•Investigate the environmental conditions under which fungi will mobilise and precipitate gold

The position:

Postdoctoral Fellowships at CSIRO provide opportunities to scientists and engineers, who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships will help launch their careers, provide experience that will enhance their career prospects, and facilitate the recruitment and development of potential leaders for CSIRO.

As the successful candidate for this unique postdoctoral opportunity, you will test and quantify the role of fungi in the biogeochemical cycle of gold, in a variety of mineralised environments. You will document the environmental conditions under which fungi will mobilise and precipitate gold. An additional component of the research will investigate the possibility of determining current genetic profile (bacteria, fungi, Archaea) of gold-enriched regolith of Tertiary age which will potentially add a new level to our understanding of biological gold cycling.

You will carry out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes. Specifically you will:

•conduct laboratory and field experiments for identifying the role of fungi in gold mobilisation and precipitation in soil and regolith environments;
•determine the nature of microbial communities including fungi in soil and quantify the role played by microorganisms in the biogeochemical cycling of gold;
•undertake regular literature reviews , produce high quality papers suitable for publication and presentation;
•contribute to the development of innovative concepts and ideas for further research;
•communicate well and work collaboratively with external colleagues and clients, across CSIRO and within your team;
•adhere to the spirit and practice of CSIRO’s Values, Health, Safety and Environment plans and policies, Diversity initiatives and Zero Harm goals.



To be considered you will hold a Doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in Microbiology or a related discipline, with experience and/or an active interest in biological processes relating to regolith and soils formation and metal transportation.

You will also have:

•excellent communication skills, including a record of publications in quality, peer reviewed journals;
•an ability to contribute new ideas and expertise to the development of biological processes of regolith and geochemical anomaly formation;
•familiarity with state-of-the-art microscopy techniques, inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and molecular microbial techniques, particularly linked to extracting and amplifying degraded DNA;
•substantial experience working with microorganisms, including the identification of fungi and other microorganisms and the promoting and inhibiting of fungi growth in laboratory environments;
•an ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary research team, plus the motivation and discipline to carry out autonomous research;
•a record of science innovation and creativity, plus the ability & willingness to incorporate novel ideas and approaches into scientific investigations.

Owing to terms of the fellowship, candidates must not have more than 3 years of relevant Postdoctoral experience.